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Casey Guerin’s parents were summoned from Peterborough, Ont. to his bedside in a Saskatoon hospital last month because doctors thought he might die.

Two weeks later, he was back in the booth as colour commentator on a National Lacrosse League Saskatchewan Rush Fox Sports webcast. Guerin, 31, had to carry an oxygen tank up five flights of stairs to his press box and play-by-play announcer John Fraser administered life-sustaining nutrients through an IV at halftime, but Guerin made it.

Since September, Guerin has been confined to a hospital as doctors combat a rare condition called chylothorax which causes his lungs to fill with fluid. During those six months doctors have only allowed him to leave the hospital on two day passes and to work Rush home games. The Rush acknowledged Guerin’s return to the booth, after missing two games, on Feb. 19. During a break in play against the Rochester Knighthawks, he was acknowledged on the video scoreboard and got a standing ovation.

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Guerin worked Saturday’s game against the Toronto Rock, unsure when he’ll be in the booth again. On Monday, he flies to Philadelphia to see a specialist he hopes will give him some semblance of a normal life again. One not confined to a hospital, one where he can eat normal food, one where he is not hooked up to machines. One where he can return home, return to work, be with his girlfriend outside of a hospital room.

“There have been some close calls,” Guerin said, recalling when his parents Donna and Pete were called to his side. “They’ve had to bring me back a couple of times when I haven’t been breathing.”

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Guerin first left Peterborough to play senior lacrosse in Nanaimo, B.C. where in 2007 he first experienced breathing issues. Doctors discovered a rupture in a duct which runs through his chest carrying a fluid called chyle, created by the digestion of fats, to the blood stream. The rupture was patched and for eight years there was no more trouble. Guerin returned to Peterborough got a sales job with Bombardier Recreational Products (Ski Doo and Sea Doo products) which transferred him to Thunder Bay, Ont. and then Saskatoon two-and-a-half years ago. He immersed himself in the local lacrosse community helping to coach the Saskatchewan Swat junior B team. When the Edmonton Rush announced last summer they were moving to Saskatoon, Guerin sought the broadcasting job. Before he interviewed for the job, he started having trouble breathing again.

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This time it was much worse.

The duct was leaking again and each time one was patched, another leak appeared.

“I’ve had three major surgeries in the last few months and it’s still occurring,” he said.

Now a specialist in Philadelphia thinks he can help.

“He has equipment we don’t have up here,” Guerin said. “They’re confident so, hopefully, they can fix me.”

Guerin says he doesn’t know if he’d still be here if not for his girlfriend Jessica Comeau, a Saskatoon native and a nurse. She’s at his side daily providing support while advocating for him.

“There have been some tough times,” he said. “If it wasn’t for her I don’t know how I’d do it.

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“You don’t know what you can deal with until you have to,” Guerin said. “It’s not until something you need starts slipping away that it changes your perspective.”

Guerin did his interview with NLL vice-president of broadcast services Doug Fritts by phone from his hospital bed. He was determined to persevere.

“I was never good enough or had the time to develop into the type of player to make the NLL,” said Guerin, whose brother Jesse played in the NLL. “But, I’ve always loved the game. I jumped at the opportunity to do this. Obviously, it would be a lot more fun if I was 100 per cent.”

While he had no broadcast experience, Guerin’s father has done some colour commentary and his cousin Pete Dalliday and uncle Gary Dalliday are longtime sports broadcasters.

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“It runs in the family,” Casey said.

Fraser, who works for a Saskatoon radio station, is amazed by Guerin’s persistence.

“He’s really going through quite a bit just to make it to each game,” Fraser said, “but you can really tell the way the guy lights up when he’s in the building that he loves every minute of being there. It’s awesome to see the change in his demeanour.”

Fraser carries a spare oxygen tank up to the press box and arranges Guerin’s game notes to save him a trip to the media room.

“I jokingly call myself Nurse John,” Fraser said. “At halftime, I have to give him three different injections into the tubes he has.”

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Fraser said it was an emotional moment watching a tear roll down Guerin’s cheek when 11,042 fans saluted him.

“There was a tear in his eyes and a frog in my mouth,” Fraser said. “Since that moment, every game I’ve seen him he just looks better. Even at that game I could tell he was back to himself because at halftime he made some smartass remark about what I was wearing.”

The past two weeks have been pretty good for Guerin who is on a no-fat diet. He can eat fruits and vegetables but also takes nutrition through an IV 18 hours a day.

“I’m holding up but it’s not a long-term solution,” he said.

Fraser said everyone hopes for success in Philadelphia.

“He told me he can’t wait to taste food or beer again and get out of the hospital,” Fraser said. “We’re all optimistic.”

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